Sweets
by Mystica83
Summary: Sugar and spice and everything nice...that's what Temari's NOT made of. [PreShipuuden. ShikaTem? You decide]


**A/N:** Hey, kids! I recently got back from my very first international trip – to Japan! It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, no question. On this trip, I ate dango for the first time and so I must admit, this story was born from craving it late last night. It takes place a month before Part Two in the manga/Naruto: Shipuuden in the anime begins. Enjoy!

Quick question: does anyone know the name of those little star-shaped candies? You know the ones I'm talking about if you've ever watched "Spirited Away." They're the multi-colored ones that the little soot-balls eat for lunch. I was so excited to find that they were real when I was in Japan, but I didn't have the presence of mind to inquire as to what they were called, silly gaijin that I am.

--

**Sweets**

Temari was a sugar fiend.

Of this Shikamaru was certain. He had always known that Temari had a tooth for sweets, given the large amount of dango he had once witnessed the girl down in one sitting. She defended by stating that the dry climate in Suna made it impossible to culture the lush rice paddies needed for supplying such confections, so she always wanted to get as much as possible before going back home. This may have been true, but that did not explain why, on missions they had co-worked for Chuunin Shiken-related purposes, he knew her to sneak more than a few of those little star-shaped candies into the vial she kept her soldier pills in. That girl had more sugar than blood in her veins and although she would never cop to a weakness, he knew her to be a great sweet-tooth.

Which is why, in addition to acquiring the requested remedies and medications for her current malady, he was now going to go on a sugar run.

"Oi, Crybaby," she called out from her bed, "don't forget the liquid sugar. Crystallized sugar doesn't melt fast enough in tea."

"Hai, hai," he groaned, closing her apartment door behind him, several important documents tucked under his arm. _It'd probably be better just to pump it straight into your veins, for all the good it'll do you, _he thought grumpily to himself_. You don't even wait to put it __**in **__your tea. You just open the little packet and suck the contents right out, then give me shit for not bringing enough. _

This was going to be so troublesome. Not only did he have to ask his mother, of all people, for her exclusive homemade flu remedy (those deer antlers really were good for everything), but he had to hit three different shops in order to bring back all the sweets Temari had none-so-sweetly demanded while she was there. _Couldn't you have gotten sick on the way __**back**__ to your own village? Mendoukse..._

--

Both Temari and Shikamaru had been appointed Chuunin-Shiken administrators recently, Shikamaru having been made an examiner. Temari had the added responsibility of being Suna's ambassador, and the Godaime Hokage had allocated none other than Shikamaru as Temari's guide in Konoha. Based on the occurrences of the last exam, Temari and Shikamaru were working in conjunction with both Ho and Kaze's Border Patrol and Intel to make sure that the next examinations went off without a hitch.

Additionally, Suna insisted on supplying Konoha with additional man-power on the days of the exams. This required constant communication (and paperwork) between both countries, and it often fell to Temari to make the three-day trip to Konoha and back, much to her annoyance. Temari knew that Gaara's sudden generosity was born out of guilt for having been personally responsible for so much of Konoha's destruction the first time he visited the village (even if it _was_ a mission). Therefore, as much as it irritated her to go back and forth constantly, she knew how important it was to her little brother that he support Konoha, and did not complain when most missions required that she stay only a day in the Leaf and return the morning after.

However, this assignment vexed Temari immensely, as Konoha's climate varied widely from Suna's. She spent the majority of her week migrating between dry heat and humid coolness. Worse yet, Konoha was entering its rainy season, complicating the already-inconvenient trips. She absentmindedly grumbled to Shikamaru one day about the inconvenience of having to pack extra clothing (as opposed to extra weapons) to deal with the drastic temperature changes so prevalent in her recent missions.

It was during one of these missions that Temari fell ill, exhibiting flu-like symptoms and ultimately coming down with a fever high enough to keep her in bed for several days. Tsunade had to send a messenger-falcon to the Sand, informing Gaara of Temari's condition and her indefinite stay, as she was unwilling to send a sick kunoichi into the desert ("the vultures had enough to eat already" she said). Sakura saw to Temari's health personally. She told Temari that her condition was unsurprising, really; Temari's body simply decided it would no longer undergo the constant barrage of temperature alternation and had rebelled against her, forcing her to rest.

Shikamaru giggled (to himself) when he heard Sakura say that. He knew how much Temari hated being _waited on_, and that she would deeply resent not being able to do things (like make dinner or buy sweets) for herself. Shikamaru then stopped laughing, as he realized that these responsibilities were now going to fall to _him_, since he was responsible for her during her stay in Konoha.

Hence the reason he was now her lapdog, fetching and carrying things at her whim.

"And if you forget the dango, there will be fucking murders!" she cried out from her window as he walked past.

_For a person that doesn't like other people to do stuff for her, _Shikamaru thought, _ you got the hang of snapping your fingers at me pretty quickly._

Sigh. This was going to be a long day.

--

Shikamaru sighed, ruefully glancing at the setting sun above the bag of groceries he was lugging back to Temari's apartment. Another week had come and gone, and he had not been able to get in some good sparring time with his best friend. Chouji had come to his apartment that morning, just as Shikamaru was leaving, and was very understanding when Shikamaru told him that his charge was still under the weather, and therefore, still under his care.

As good-natured as Chouji was, Shikamaru still felt guilty that he could not hang out with him as per usual. Tuesdays were always Team Ten's day off, and the boys usually spent it sparring in the morning, followed by lunch on the old cloud-watching bench before Ino joined them for a relaxing game of shougi. Shikamaru always got a kick out of their shougi sessions; thirty-seven 2-on-1 games so far this year, and they had yet to kick his ass, but he admired their persistence (and noted their steady improvement). Shikaku once noted the double advantage of said relaxation time: it relaxed them as well as helped develop the analytical battle skills of all three members, thus increasing their success rates on missions (Yoshino stopped giving her son crap about being extra lazy on Tuesdays after she heard this).

After the game, Shikamaru would bid them good evening, leaving Ino and Chouji to their usual Tuesday night date while he went home and caught up on his reading or prepared for the next day (Temari usually came on Wednesdays). A perfectly relaxing end to a perfectly relaxing day.

Made perfectly impossible by the presence of a certain Sand kunoichi.

"Did you remember the dango?" Temari asked as Shikamaru opened the door.

"Konbanwa to you, too," Shikamaru grumbled.

Temari ignored his grumbling and dove into the bag, surfacing only when she had found the desired dessert. She had been here almost a week and the fever had subsided after the fifth day, but Sakura insisted that she stay until the illness was completely gone. From her bed, Temari took advantage of the time to work on security measures as well as assessment standards for the upcoming exam. She would have plenty to do when she got back home, but if everything went according to plan, she would be able to stay home for a good week (maybe two) before having to shuttle back and forth again.

Much to Shikamaru's chagrin, she had made good use of_ his _time as well. He had been worked to the bone (in his opinion), going over rubrics and procedures, sending him to Tsunade-hime to get documents signed, as well as sending him out for meals and snacks (Sakura had also insisted that she stay indoors until her flu cleared up completely). Fueled on sugar, the woman was unstoppable. He watched her in amazement, as she finished a box of six dango sticks inside of fifteen minutes, having been considerate enough this evening to save him _one_.

Shikamaru contemplated her as she took her evening tea. _If a vampire could get past your defenses long enough to bite you, I'd bet he'd die of diabetes before you could skewer him, _Shikamaru thought with a smile.

Temari noticed him grinning as she finished her drink. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Your eating habits," he answered.

"Asshole."

"I didn't mean in a bad way. I just think it's funny that your diet is the stuff dentists make their fortune on," Shikamaru joked.

Temari's mouth twitched. "Well, we both do funny things. For example, I think it's hilarious that you hit like a girl."

"If I hit like a girl, I'd hand you your ass," Shikamaru smoothly replied.

Temari finished the sugar packet she was sucking on and licked some syrup off her upper lip. "Too true. If you could hit like a girl, I'd be so proud of you, I'd _let_ you handle my ass."

Shikamaru paused. _That wasn't what I said..._

"Anyway," she continued "I've told you before, we don't have stuff like this in Suna, so I only eat like this when I'm here."

"So all the time I've known you, you've been on a sugar high?" Shikamaru asked slyly.

"Something like that," she replied cautiously.

"You work me like a dog when you're hyped up on your manjuu. I should've just brought you some ramen. My week would have gone easier," Shikamaru muttered.

"Had you been stupid enough to ignore my request for sweets, I would have opened my tessen up your ass," Temari answered seriously.

"You're as sweet as your insulin levels are high," Shikamaru mocked.

"You don't believe me?" Temari challenged.

"You're not dumb enough to piss off your only connection to the outside world...and dango," Shikamaru said smartly.

"I'd get mine," Temari answered.

"Pray, do tell," Shikamaru inquired, unconvinced.

"You're forgetting an important fact, idiot..." Temari informed him.

Shikamaru looked at her, questioningly.

"...Konoha is full of sweet things."

--

Temari was released to leave Thursday morning. Shikamaru saw her to the gates. "Please do me the favor of being less troublesome next time," he said.

"Oh, quit your bitching. I saved your ass again and you're _still_ complaining, you annoying little shit," Temari replied, sounding exasperated.

"Saved my ass from what?" Shikamaru wanted to know.

Temari gave him an aggravated look. "If I would have done nothing whilst I was convalescing, we'd be two weeks behind in work, you moron. Next time I should just beat you senseless and show you what hell looks like when _I_ deliver it."

"Sounds interesting," Shikamaru said with a smile.

Temari raised an eyebrow. _Wasn't expecting that one,_ she thought.

Shikamaru sighed. "See you in a while?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied. "I have to get my sugar fix sometime. Later, sweetie," Temari called out as she walked past Konoha's gates.

Shikamaru blinked. _Sweetie?_

_That...explains a lot._

He would have to remember to keep a little dish of those star-shaped candies she liked so much on his nightstand the next time she came over.

--

FIN

--

**Author's Note:** Ok, so I'm not sure if they're a little OOC, but I wanted to portray what lies beneath Temari and Shikamaru's jibes and insults. I think this is what flirting would sound like if a bad-ass and a lazy-ass were to go at it. I also wanted to leave the question of Temari and Shikamaru's relationship status open, but with the possibility of everything available (are they intimate? Are they even dating at this time? It's all up to you). Side note: Temari's manjuu is the sweet kind. Finally, if anyone knows how to make dango, PLEASE let me know ;-) Thanks for reading!


End file.
